Have you ever been pulled into the vortex of YouTube tutorials? How about Pinterest? There is a wealth of information and ideas at our finger tips. Time well spent.
Recently, I found this tutorial for making a tiny zipper pouch that can be used as a key chain or attached to a purse. So Sew Easy provides an excellent tutorial for making this small coin purse. I made mine a half inch longer and wider than the dimensions listed in the tutorial. It was so much fun to make. The pouch is the perfect addition to the crossbody bag I made.
Craft
Scrappy Day
Yesterday I was able to finish hand quilting a snowman table runner. I chose this project in order to practice hand quilting. This was a fun learning process. I find, as Mariss of Fabrications says, that hand quilting can be addictive.
I folded the top so you could see the cute snowman fabric used on the backing.
After I finished binding the table runner, I went to store my remaining scraps in my Christmas fabric suitcase. While rummaging through the suitcase, I found the scraps from the Christmas quilt that I made for me. The fabric was too cute to discard, I had no idea what I could do with it. I thought of mug rugs, but that didn’t sound exciting.
So, I went to YouTube to look for inspiration. I found a tutorial by Yoan Sewing Studio, and immediately got to work on making a patchwork crossbody bag. In the tutorial, only three different colors are used for the patchwork. I cut all the remaining Christmas fabric I had for the patchwork. I had to find three fabrics for the lining, the backing, and the lining pockets. For the candy cane strap, I had to piece the fabric to have enough. I had the D-rings for the strap. Tomorrow, I will have to purchase the lobster clasps and the slider to attach the strap. This was a fun way to spend an afternoon. I am so happy that none of this cute fabric went to waste.
The front has a zippered pocket.
The back has a double pocket.
The lining also has a double pocket.
I hope your Monday was a fun day.
Saturday
Since today was Small Business Saturday, I visited my two favorite quilt shops in San Antonio. My friend, Francine, is the owner of Las Colchas. She and Toni opened the shop in 1981. The shop is filled with gorgeous fabric, sewing notions, and patterns. The best part of visiting with Francine is the inspiration and encouragement that she offers. Many times, I have gone into the shop with nothing more than a simple idea. Francine helps to grow, visualize, and develop my ideas. Her main advice is to just play and have fun. As I was selecting fabric, I ran across a sample table runner they had on display. It is a very simple pattern, In the Meadow, by Creek Side Stitches. What caught my eye about this cute snowman table runner, was that Toni had hand quilted it. One of my goals is to some day hand quilt a lap sized quilt. I have done a bit of hand quilting, but only on small art projects. Toni gave me some helpful hints and encouragement to try hand quilting. I was able to piece the table runner this afternoon. I plan to start hand quilting it tomorrow.
I also visited the Mesquite Bean, where I was able to find more fabric for some future projects. The shop was super busy, so I was not able to touch base with one of the many helpful employees there. I will be returning there soon, since I need advice on one of the quilts that I have in progress.
Before Thanksgiving, I made some pouches for my Meemaw friends. The Clown Car is getting ready for a trip to Round Rock, Georgetown, and Salado, Texas. We plan to attend the Christmas Strolls and visit the downtown shops in all three of these cities. The pouches will be used for our travel snacks. I used the pattern and tutorial by Marcela’s Purse.
I also painted a rock for our trip. It needs some touch up painting because the black marker smeared when I brushed on the Modge Podge.
The temperature today hit 76. I set the mood with Christmas music so I could finish binding my Christmas quilt. I’ll just drape it over the sofa to add to the Christmas decor.
I hope you enjoyed your Saturday.
Happy Thanksgiving
I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Waterproofing
Last week, I made a pouch out of a place mat. I followed the instructions of Lorrie Nunemaker. The inside of the pouch was water proofed by using a Heat and Bond vinyl product.
This past week, I visited the Austin Sewing Machine and Quilts Shop in Round Rock, Texas. On display was a zipper pouch that had a water proof exterior. I was introduced to the Odicoat product. It is used for water proofing fabric. The feel of the waterproofed fabric was better than the vinyl product I had previously used. It felt softer and smoother. The pouch sample was waterproofed on the outside fabric and the lining fabric. I purchased a jar, and I plan to try it out soon. I found a tutorial on how to apply the Odicoat.
Please send any helpful hints or tips if you have used this product before. I will post my results. 
Great Week
I just returned from a great week with my three youngest grandchildren. Time was spent in the library, playing board games, reading, and having great conversations. I got some special one-on-one time with my infant grandson. It was also fun to meet with my three sons and daughter-in-laws, my friend Nancy, and my sister Emma. Of course there were some trips to quilt shops, craft shops, and thrift shops in the area. In between visits and time with my grandchildren, I researched different crafts and things to make. There are numerous YouTube tutorials on how to make a variety of pouches. I recently made a zippered box pouch that had exposed seams. One of the tutorials I discovered was by Marcela’s Purse. This tutorial is for a zippered and lined box pouch with no seams exposed. Marcela gives excellent directions. I was able to make three of these pouches in two hours.
I am looking forward to another great week. I hope you have one also.
Mi Casa
This past July, two of my friends and I headed for La Grange for our own quilting retreat. Each one of us was making our own Village quilt pattern by Jumble. One of my friends had seen an adaptation of this quilt where a character fabric was sewn into the doorway. My friends and I had prepared for the trip by cutting from our fabric stashes. At the retreat, we pooled all of these fabric pieces. What fun we had just choosing from the different piles. I left the retreat with a few houses already pieced and plans to complete it at home. The piecing for this quilt was intense, and it just wasn’t that much fun doing it all alone. I kept setting the project aside. With encouragement from my blogging friends, I continued the project. I’m happy to say it is now quilted. I picked it up from my quilter yesterday and started binding it last night.
This quilt is such a happy, fun quilt. The scrappiness adds so much color and design. The characters in the doorway are inviting you in. I decided to name this quilt, Mi Casa es Tu Casa.
One of the rows include characters from my sister Emma’s children’s books. I think this will be a fun quilt to use as for reading and story telling activities with children. I plan to try it out soon.
I pieced a house block to use as the label.
Recently, I was thinking of discarding my overflowing bins of scraps. Again, thanks to my blogging friends, and my sister, I rethought the situation. I hope to organize the scraps and make more scrappy quilts.
Pig in a Wig, Rat, and Bunny are three of the characters in my sister’s books.
I chose a swirly heart design for the quilting.
My label.
Cold Front: Time to Craft
We are having a wonderful cold front. Great weather for hot cider and sewing. On one of my research days, I happened onto a tutorial for making a 3D Christmas tree. The tutorial is by the Sewing Directory.
The tree has a retro feel about it. It was fun to make, so today I prepared some more trees. I used scraps and remnants from Christmas Projects Past. All I need to do now is stuff the trees. This can be done when I watch old movies.
After enjoying a short, brisk walk, I started on another project. Last week, I found a tutorial on how to make a lined cosmetic/lunch pouches. Lorrie Nunemaker has great tutorials on how to use a placemat for making pouches. One of the great tips Lorrie gives is on how to use Wonder Tape instead of pins when attaching a zipper. Wow! This tape works great. I have been using fabric glue when attaching zippers. Since the placemat has a thick binding, the Wonder Tape worked better than glue. My only concern is the vinyl. This is the first time I have used the Heatbond Iron-On Vinyl, and I do not know how long this will last. The project took less than an hour to complete.
Vinyl Interior
We are expecting another cold day tomorrow, so I need to find something else to make. There are so many crafters who are so generous in sharing free patterns. I love spending time learning new things.
Also, I am still working on a quilt. I need to pull more fabric from my stash to work on the quilt.
I hope you are enjoying November.
Zipper Pouches
It has been a while since I posted. Another viral cold and cough kept me down for a few days. I still managed to start another quilt. I have finished piecing the 20 blocks. Now all I need to do is add the sashing and border. This time, I think I am going to piece the backing. I will post more about this quilt when it is completed and gifted. This quilt was made from scraps and a few purchased fat quarters.
During my down time, I found myself looking at different ways to make pouches. I found this great tutorial by Jen, of Shabby Fabrics. It is a tutorial on making a boxed zippered pouch. There are quilte a few boxed pouch tutorials on Youtube, but I chose to try out the tutorial by Jen. Jen’s directions are perfect. She makes it look so easy…in fact, it turned out to be easy.
8″ X 10″ Outer fabric, lining fabric, heavy iron-on fusible
I had enough of the two fabrics to make another pouch. This time, I followed the tutorial of Alanda Craft, since I have used her pattern before. The measurements were adjusted to fit the fabric that I had. I also found a gray scrap to make the top-front portion of the zippered pouch.
These makes a nice set.
Dia de Los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, has been celebrated throughout Mexico and Latin American countries, since pre-Columbian times. It is a time to celebrate our deceased loved ones. There are many traditions on ways to celebrate with food, altars, family gatherings, visiting cemeteries and much more. For the first time, San Antonio is having a Dia de los Muertos River parade. One of my friends and her granddaughter set up a beautiful altar with photos of family, friends, and even pets that have died.
This year, I have made some fabric art for this special day. I made a fabric journal for two family members who recently experienced the death of two loved ones. I printed some poems on fabric, made some puffy quilt blocks for the cover and some of the pages, and added buttons and milagros. Milagros are small charms that are like prayers, petitions to saints.
Our local HEB grocery store has an array of Day of the Dead clothing, items, food, and decor. I purchased a crow that was the inspiration for a quilted art piece.
Process:
- Iron fusible stabilizer to the back of muslin fabric
- Draw bird on the stabilizer
- Collage and hand-sew different pieces of fabric to form the bird
- Use white fabric paint to paint skeleton
- Prepare 12.5″ x 12.5″ block for quilting, using a muslin backing
- Iron bird onto quilting block
- Hand quilt and use embroidery thread for stitching
- Embellish with milagros and buttons
- Cut quilted block to 9.5″ x 9.5″
- Prepare backing, cut at one inch more than block. Fold and form the binding.
